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Best for Bakers on a Budget
Courtesy of Aucma
It may not look as carefully designed as some of the better-known stand mixer brands out there, but I think this Aucma appliance is excellent value and thoughtfully made. It has lots of useful design features, such as the splash guard that fixes conveniently to the tilt head instead of sitting atop the bowl. I found that having it there meant that it didn’t get in the way when I went to lift the head to check the ingredients in the bowl. With six speeds and a pulse function, it doesn’t have as many settings as, say, the Cuisinart or KitchenAid models, but the Aucma’s 1400W pure copper motor did provide impressive power for ramping up the speed in a matter of seconds.
The lever and speed controls of the Aucma Mixer are positioned near each other, which I found useful as it makes the whole thing easier to control once you’re stuck into baking. The speed dial also lights up, which adds a nice touch. There are three attachments here including a whisk, beater, and dough hook to cover all your basic baking needs. It comes with a 6.2-liter bowl and a 5-liter bowl that fit a lot of mixtures and make it useful for batch baking or catering to large households. With two handles it’s easy to lift the bowl too. Nicely done. —Emily Peck
Design Tilt head Motor power 660 watts Bowl capacity 6.5 quarts Speeds 6 Included attachments Whisk, dough hook, mixing beater, splash guard WIRED
- Potent 1400W motor and a large-capacity 6.2 L bowl
- Two handles for holding onto heavy batches of dough
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- Only six speed (plus pulse) settings, so watch your recipe closely to prevent overdoing the mixing
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Best Multitasker
Bella
3.5 Qt Hand Stand Mixer
“Fits-anywhere kitchenware” is the tagline of this 2024-launched appliance brand known for space savers like a 3.5-inch-wide toaster and cookware sets with removable handles. Like many other Bella appliances, the Hand & Stand mixer is a two-in-one: Use it like a regular hand mixer with either the included beater or dough hook attachments, or snap it into a nested, lidded bowl that rotates as you blend, turning it into a stand mixer. (The motor is 200 watts; about 75 less than a KitchenAid head-tilt model.) You add ingredients through a clear slider window on the top, which is removable for use as a bench scraper.
The hand mixer and its accessories fit in the bowls with the lid on, for stacking. I wasn’t especially impressed when using the Bella in hand mixer mode—the chunky, boxy handle eventually caused my hand to cramp when making whipped cream. And as a stand mixer, it left plenty of unmixed flour around the sides of the bowl when I made an angel food cake. Where it did excel beyond expectations, however, was in shredding meat. I often shred cooked chicken, pork, turkey, and beef with a hand mixer, and no matter how large the bowl or how careful I am, meat juice and shreds always manage to fly out. With a bowl that’s not only enclosed but that rotates, the Bella made short work of my tests with both chicken breasts and thighs.
If you shred a lot of meat, this is so efficient it’s worth buying for that task alone, but I can also see buying this for a young person just starting out who doesn’t have much space and doesn’t plan on making anything especially elaborate. In addition to the pictured Surf color, it also comes in Seaglass, Blossom, Plum, and Oatmilk. —Kat Merck
Design Handheld Motor power 200 watts Bowl capacity 3.5 quarts Speeds Adjustable Included attachments 2 dough hooks, 2 egg beaters, bench scraper WIRED
- Hybrid design gives you a 2-in-1
- For BBQ and meat-shredding experts, this is a one-stop shop
- Very affordable
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- Not the best for pastry production, as it can leave ingredients unmixed
